Page 206 of Heir

KAI

One week later

I carriedthe ten-pound head wrapped in plastic and placed it in a small backpack attached to my back as we stormed the fucking building, an abandoned farmhouse about two hours away from Sacramento that housed the sick and dying pakhan of the Savkin Bratva.

Dad covered me as I kicked the door down, and the men inside scrambled to pick up their weapons.

I sneered at them in disgust at how ill-prepared they were.

And these fuckheads wanted to take the city away from the King’s Men?

I shot them one at a time, and when I ran out of bullets, I used my knife and bare hands to kill them. Dad, Micah, Roman, Blue, and about twenty of our men were behind me, helping me take out all the men.

There would be no mercy.

I found Grigoriy Savkin in the back room.

He looked up at me, defeat in his eyes. He didn’t even try to fight.

He sat up and coughed as if it was taking everything out of him.

I untied the pack and threw the head by his feet. Jude’s eyes peeked out through the see-through plastic bag.

Grigoriy looked down at it, then back at me.

“It’s over,” I said. “You’re done. Your men are dead. And your legacy is no more.”

He didn’t say anything, keeping his gaze on Jude’s head, as if that would somehow bring the fucker back to life.

I shook my head and walked out of there.

He was on his last legs. He was gonna die soon, but it wouldn’t be by my hand.

I looked around at all the bodies of the Savkin Bratva and, finally, at our men.

Dad grinned at me, and I felt a weight lift off my chest.

It was really over.

We walked out to where we had parked our bikes, and just as I was about to climb on, I heard a gunshot from inside.

I met Dad’s eyes.

Grigoriy Savkin was dead.

* * *

Three monthslater

I tugged on my tie.

Dad’s backyard was transformed into something even I didn’t recognize, white daisies and red roses everywhere.

“Nervous?” Blue asked, standing beside me in the middle of the makeshift altar that Emmy and Ryleigh had worked hard on building—with the men’s help.

I shook my head. “No. I just want to get this done and over with and take Gemma away from all of you bastards.”

Blue shook with laughter as if he thought I was kidding. I wasn’t.